I’ve traveled on other cruise lines and was surprisingly disappointed in Carnival. First of all, I have never been solicited to on a cruise as frequently and relentlessly as when I was on Carnival. It was almost unbearable, and a frustration I heard from many fellow passengers. But the worst critique is at the end.

I had my toddler with me. The staff was all wonderful with her. But I had to change her on bathroom floors or trek back to my stateroom multiple times because of the lack of changing stations. I had to carry her through a smoke-filled casino to get to certain rooms. The website made it appear as though there were a toddler play room on the ship, but it turns out that’s just at set times at night for paid babysitting. We took advantage of the ships “stay and play” events and were just greeted with a blanket on the floor with some toys in a bin (fine for her, but not what I had seen when booking the cruise!).

Not only was the huge ostentatious water park never opened whenever I looked, but communication with the passengers about when it would be opened was non-existent. I wasn’t super big on enjoying it (although I did want to go down that slide at least once) but I truly felt for all the kids who were on the trip with us. It felt very deceptive - like the water park existed to attract people to the ship but not to use. Read more